Local handling of complaints about members

Report: 4
Date: 26 September 2008
By: the Monitoring Officer

Summary

This report proposes procedures and other actions necessary to implement the Standards Committee’s new responsibility for the handling and assessment of complaints against MPA members where there is an allegation that they have breached the MPA’s code of conduct.

A. Recommendation

That the Committee approves:

1. MPA Procedures for Standards complaints – Appendix 1;
2. MPA Complaints Guidance and Form – Appendix 2 and the short form at Appendix 3;
3. The criteria at para 3.14 of Appendix 1 – for dealing with requests to not disclose identity of complainant;
4. The criteria at para 3.17 of Appendix 1 – for the assessment of complaints; and
5. That the Committee establishes an Assessment Sub-Committee, a Review Sub-Committee and a Hearings Sub-Committee, to carry out the various functions under the Act.

B. Supporting information

1. On 8 May 2008, the Standards Committee became legally responsible for the handling and local assessment of complaints that a member has breached the MPA’s Code of Conduct. The Committee now needs to take decisions on some ‘fundamentals’ needed to implement this new regime, including approving procedures and establishing a number of sub-committees.

2. Appendix 1 is a draft procedures manual describing how the MPA will operate its local assessment regime. This needs to be published as detailed public guidance, as well as for internal use. The draft incorporates suggested criteria for making decisions if a complainant requests that his/her identity is not disclosed. There are also suggested criteria for assessing complaints – drawn from Standards Board for England (SBE) guidance. As time goes on, the Committee may modify or expand these criteria in the light of experience.

3. A draft complaints form and guidance notes are at Appendix 2. The form and guidance will be available online as well as in paper form. A short form, also to appear on the website and relevant MPA publications, is at Appendix 3.

4. The procedures are modelled on the GLA procedures. Bearing in mind the substantial overlap of membership, and the “GLA family” dimension, it seems advantageous to have procedures that are broadly similar across the GLA bodies.

5. At present, there are two primary routes through which the MPA receives written correspondence, electronic or otherwise. These are as follows:

• The MPA’s web and email system for comments and enquiries
• Correspondence (internal or external) to individual officers or MPA Members

Enquiries received via email or the website are responded to by staff in the Corporate Secretariat. They also deal with incoming correspondence addressed to the Chair and Members, Freedom of Information requests, and complaints made under the MPA’s corporate complaints procedure. All such correspondence may contain complaints that an MPA Member has breached the Code of Conduct, which must be considered by the Assessment Sub-Committee of the Standards Committee.

6. To address this, the relevant staff in the Corporate Secretariat will be given guidance about the process for complaints against members and the need to refer any possible complaints to the Monitoring Officer as a matter of urgency.

7. It is recognised that one of the keys to implementing the local assessment regime successfully is spreading awareness of this as much as possible amongst officers. Information about it will be included in new staff inductions; it is proposed to make regular mention of it at staff meetings and in the in house MPA bulletin, “Pivot”; the staff union, PCS, will also be asked to assist in raising staff awareness.

8. All Members of the MPA will be briefed on the Code of Conduct and the local assessment procedures. As over half of the members are new to the MPA this year this will form part of their induction.

C. Race and equality impact

Equalities and diversity are integral to the Code of Conduct and could, for instance, be the basis of a complaint that a member had breached the code. It is important that the Standards Committee ensures through its procedures that equalities and diversity principles and best practice are maintained throughout the handling of any complaint.

D. Financial implications

There are no financial implications arising from the report.

D. Background papers

• The Local Government Act 2000
• The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
• The Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008/1085

E. Contact details

Report author: Simon Vile, Head of Corporate Secretariat and Monitoring Officer.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 2

Making a complaint about a member of the MPA

This guidance has been produced to help you decide how to make your complaint against a member of the MPA.

You should speak to the Monitoring Officer (Simon Vile 020 7202 0180 ) if you are not clear if the Standards Committee can consider your complaint. The Assessment Sub- Committee of the Standards Committee will make the decision about what action, if any, to take on your complaint.

Your complaint must be about conduct that occurred while the Member(s) complained about were in office. Conduct of an individual before they were appointed to the Authority, or after they have resigned or otherwise ceased to be a Member, cannot be considered by the Assessment Sub-Committee.

The Code of Conduct came into effect on 5 May 2002, although some authorities adopted the Code of Conduct earlier. If your complaint concerns matters that occurred before 5 May 2002 you should contact the Monitoring Officer before making your complaint to check whether it is within the jurisdiction of the Assessment Sub-Committee to consider.

Your complaint can only be about one or more named Members of the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Your complaint must be that the Member(s) has, or may have, breached the MPA’s Code of Conduct. A copy of the Code of Conduct is available on the Authority’s website (www.mpa.gov.uk) and frequently asked questions about the Code of Conduct can be found on the Standards Board for England’s website (www.standardsboard.gov.uk). You may also contact the Monitoring Officer (Simon Vile).

Complaints about dissatisfaction with a decision or action of the Authority or one of its committees, a service provided by the Authority or the Authority’s procedures do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Standards Committee. Complaints about the actions of people employed by the Authority also do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Standards Committee. Details of how to make complaints in respect of those areas can be found on the Authority’s website.

Your complaint must be in writing (letter, fax or email). If a disability prevents you from making your complaint in writing you may contact the Monitoring Officer for assistance.

Please use the MPA Member Complaints form accompanying this note and available on line on our web site.
It is important to note that not every complaint that falls within the jurisdiction of the Standards Committee will be referred for investigation or other action. The Assessment Sub-Committee of the Standards Committee must decide whether this is appropriate. It will make this decision using the following initial tests. If the complaint fails one or more of the following tests, it cannot be investigated as a breach of the Code, and the complainant will be informed that no further action will be taken in respect of the complaint:-

• Is it a complaint against one or more named Members of the Authority?
• Was the named Member in office at the time of the alleged breach and was the Code of Conduct in force at the time?
• If the complaint was proven, would it be a breach of the Code under which the member was operating at the time of the alleged misconduct

If the Assessment Sub-Committee decides not to refer your complaint for investigation or other action it will give you the reasons for this decision. It will also explain any right that you may have to ask for the decision to be reviewed.

What happens once you submit your complaint?

When you submit your complaint, we will write to you to let you know we have received it. We will also tell the Member that you are complaining about that we have received your complaint, who made the complaint and the relevant paragraphs of the Code of Conduct that it is alleged may have been breached.
The Assessment Sub-Committee will then meet to consider your complaint and decide whether it should be referred for investigation or other action. This will happen within an average of 20 working days of the date we receive your complaint. Meetings of the Assessment Sub-Committee are ‘closed’, which means that you will not be able to attend. It is therefore very important that you set your complaint out clearly and provide at the outset all the information you wish the Assessment Sub-Committee to consider.

The criteria that will be used to assess your complaint and decide whether it should be investigated are as follows:-

• Has the complainant submitted enough information to satisfy the Assessment Sub-Committee that the complaint should be referred for investigation or other action?
• Is the complaint about someone who is no longer a member of the Authority, but is a Member of another authority? If so, the Assessment Sub-Committee may decide to refer the complaint to the monitoring officer of that other authority.
• Is the complaint about a member of the Authority but relating to his /her conduct as Mayor or as a member of the London Assembly? If so, the Assessment Sub-Committee may decide to refer the complaint to the monitoring officer of the Greater London Authority.
• Has the complaint already been the subject of an investigation or other action relating to the Code of Conduct? Similarly, has the complaint been the subject of an investigation by other regulatory authorities?
• Is the complaint about something that happened so long ago that there would be little benefit in taking action now?
• Is the complaint too trivial to warrant further action?
• Does the complaint appear to be simply malicious, politically motivated or tit-for-tat?

When the Assessment Sub-Committee has reached its decision you will be notified in writing whether your complaint has been referred for investigation or other action. At the same time, the Member(s) you have complained about will also be notified of the decision. The decision letters will be sent within five working days of the Assessment Sub-Committee reaching its decision. The decision of the Assessment Sub-Committee is made available for public inspection once the Member the complaint is about has been given a summary of the complaint. In very limited situations the Member may not be given this summary immediately and if so any public inspection will not happen until the Member does get the summary.

What is meant by ‘other action’?

The Assessment Sub-Committee may decide to refer your complaint for ‘other action’ instead of referring it for investigation. Other action is a deliberately broad term that may include options such as requiring the person you have complained about to apologise or undergo training or mediation. The Assessment Sub-Committee will carefully consider the circumstances surrounding your complaint when deciding whether other action is appropriate. If the Assessment Sub-Committee decides to refer your complaint for other action, what this involves will be explained to you.

How should I set out my complaint?

It is very important that you set your complaint out fully and clearly, and provide all the information at the outset. You should also provide any documents or other material that you wish the Assessment Sub-Committee to consider, where possible. Unless the Authority advises you otherwise, you will not be able to attend the meeting of the Assessment Sub-Committee.

You are recommended to use the Authority’s complaint form or provide a covering note summarising what you are complaining about, especially if your complaint includes a lot of supporting documentation. In the summary you should tell us exactly what each person you are complaining about said or did that has caused you to complain. If you are sending supporting documentation please cross-reference it against the summary of your complaint.

You should be as detailed as possible and substantiate your complaint where you can. Although you are not required to prove your complaint at this stage of proceedings, you do have to demonstrate that you have reasonable grounds for believing that the Member(s) complained about has breached the Code of Conduct.
Further Information

For further information about this process:

Simon Vile
Head of Corporate Secretariat and Monitoring Officer
Metropolitan Police Authority
10 Dean Farrar Street
London
SW1H 0NY

Email: enquiries@mpa.gov.uk

Complaint form - see Appendix 4 (pdf document)

Appendix 3

Local code of Conduct complaints process

Changes to the complaints procedure

From 8 May 2008 the MPA’s Standards Committees became responsible for considering complaints that an MPA member may have breached the Authority’s Code of Conduct

What this means to you

If you want to complain about the conduct of a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, you must submit your complaint to:

Head of Corporate Secretariat and Monitoring Officer
Metropolitan Police Authority
10 Dean Farrar Street
London SW1H 0NY

Email: enquiries@mpa.gov.uk

The Standards Committee can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of a member. It will not deal with complaints about things that are not covered by the members’ Code of Conduct. If you make a complaint to the Standards Committee it must be about why you think a member has not followed the Code of Conduct.

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